"The Red Wheelbarrow," first published in 1923, is one of American poet William Carlos Williams's most famous poems, despite being rather cryptic: it consists of a single sentence describing a red wheelbarrow, wet with rain, sitting beside some chickens. The only other information given is vague, and when speaker says that "so much depends upon" this wheelbarrow, the reader likely wonders, "What depends it, exactly?" An example of Imagist poetry, "The Red Wheelbarrow" focuses above all on conveying a precise depiction of, well, an image. However, this does not suggest that the poem lacks meaning. From the attention paid to the image of the wheelbarrow, it is possible that the speaker is observing and appreciating the everyday necessity of manual labor—or even commenting on humankind's relationship with nature.
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The Full Text of “The Red Wheelbarrow”
1so much depends
2upon
3a red wheel
4barrow
5glazed with rain
6water
7beside the white
8chickens
The Full Text of “The Red Wheelbarrow”
1so much depends
2upon
3a red wheel
4barrow
5glazed with rain
6water
7beside the white
8chickens
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“The Red Wheelbarrow” Summary
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“The Red Wheelbarrow” Themes
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Sentimentality and Everyday Objects
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Nature, Civilization, and Agriculture
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Perception and Reality
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Red Wheelbarrow”
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Lines 1-2
so much depends
upon -
Lines 3-4
a red wheel
barrow -
Lines 5-6
glazed with rain
water -
Lines 7-8
beside the white
chickens
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“The Red Wheelbarrow” Symbols
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The Red Wheelbarrow
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“The Red Wheelbarrow” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Enjambment
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Assonance
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Extended Metaphor
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Juxtaposition
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Imagery
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Consonance
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“The Red Wheelbarrow” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Upon
- Wheelbarrow
- Glazed
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Red Wheelbarrow”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Red Wheelbarrow” Speaker
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“The Red Wheelbarrow” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Red Wheelbarrow”
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More “The Red Wheelbarrow” Resources
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External Resources
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The Poem Out Loud — A short clip in which William Carlos Williams reads "The Red Wheelbarrow."
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William Carlos Williams's Life and Legacy — Biographical information about William Carlos Williams from the Poetry Foundation.
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What Is Imagism? — A brief history and explanation of the Imagist movement, provided by Poets.org.
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Poets on the Poem — An episode of "Poem Talk," a podcast hosted by Al Filreis, in which he and other poets (Charles Bernstein, Bob Grenier, and Bob Perelman) discuss "The Red Wheelbarrow" and other work by William Carlos Williams.
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Inspiration for "The Red Wheelbarrow" — A New York Times article discussing the quite literal red wheelbarrow (and its owner) that inspired the poem.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Carlos Williams
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